Milton h



M. H. COOK.

LEATHER PRODUCT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10. 1918.

Patented July 8, 1919.

INVENTOR M! 25021 J16 Coo/c A TTUR/VHIS MILTON H. COOK, OF

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO H. N. COOK BELTING CO., OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

LEATHER PRODUCT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application filed October 10. 1918. Serial No. 257,556.

- To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MILTON H. COOK, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Leather Prod- .ucts, of which the followin is a specification.

This invention relates to. a leather product. Due to the scarcity of leather at the present time and the unusual demand for products which must be necessarily made of leather, it has become quite a problem to produce a leather product within which the lighter grades of leather may be utilized to fill the purposes originally filled by heavier stock. As this leather is not impel vious to moisture, it is desirable to render is so and thus provide suitable material from which shoesples may be made, said.

soles being absolutely impervious to moisture. The leather product here disclosed also may be used for numerous other purposes such as packing and leather belting, in

- which cases the water-proof qualities of the leather will be advantageous as well as the stiffening of the leather, due to the composite formation of the product.

The invention consists essentially in the use of thin pieces of leather which are bound together by water -proof cement, either directly applied or uniting them to the opposite sides of layers of water-proof material.

The invention is illustrated by Way of example in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a view in section and elevation, illustrating the leather product as used in a pump packing.

Fig. 2 is a view in section, showing two sheets of leather as united by a water-proof cement.

Fig. 3 is a view in section, disclosing two pieces of leather, between which a sheet of material impervious to moisture, is positioned, and to which the leather is secured by a waterproof cement.

Referring to the drawings, 10 and 11 indicate pieces of leather. This leather may be thin sole leather or split leather, it being understood that regardless of the thickness of the leather and the number of pieces used, the manner of combining them would be the same. These two pieces of leather, as shown in Fig. 2, are cemented together by an adhesive material, forming a layer 12. It will be understood that-various materials could be used in this connection, the main requisite being that it shall be impervious to moisture and insoluble in water to form a barrier through which moisture will not pass from one layer of the leather to the other. By combining split leather with sole leather and by matching the butt on the shoulder and the back on the belly, a more even piece of leather will be produced than is found in ordinary leather stock.

It will be seen that by cementing two or more thicknesses of leather together, a desirable hydraulic leather will be produced, Which may be readily pressed into any desired shape, as shown in Fi". 1. By building up the leather stock, as indicated in the present invention, a product of more even texture will be produced than is ordinarily obtainable and the article formed from the stock will retain its shape more perfectly. It will also be recognized that by the use of heavier splits, much cheaper articles could be roduced. This leather product, besides belng used for the above use, can be utilized in the manufacture of pistol holsters, water-proof lined cases and the like, either combining the separate layers of leather with the water-proof cement or inter-posing the celluloid sheet therebetween, as will be hereinafter set forth. The essential idea in the present invention is to produce thicker leather than is now obtainable, due to the Government requisitions, and to provide a leather stock of a thickness normally used for certain purposes and which will accomplish all of the results originally obtained, with the additional feature of the waterproof barriers interposed between the various sections of the leather. The leather thus formed is believed to be of greater value than the original one-ply leather, as in that case a preparation is drummed into the leather to make it water-proof, which is only a temporary precaution, while in the present mstance the water proofing substance will remain permanently in position.

It has been found preferable to use a combination of celluloid dissolved in acetone or other solvents as the cement, this product bein known commercially as soluble cotton. W en this cement is used, the two layers are permanently united and will at the same timeallow a limited flexibility of the material. Other cements may be used as desired and may be made of kelp or other ingredients insoluble in water. When sheets of leather have been prepared, as previously described, they may be formed to produce various articles or may be used to form soles for shoes. When forming articles, such as the pump packing shown in Fig. 1, a very des1rable result is obtained. It has been found that normally the side walls of leather pump packin are flabby and'do not properly hold their s ape. Due tothe reinforcing effect of the interposed film of cement, the packing will be rigidly held and will provlde a cylindrical wall portion possessing a very desirable stability, which also prevents it from becoming stretched and distorted in use.

When heavy shoe soles are made, it is sometimes desirable to interpose a sheet 14 of water-proof material between the two layers of leather. For this purpose a thin sheet of celluloid has been used and when the soluble cotton has been applied to its opposite sides and the contiguous faces of the leather, the cement and celluloid will combine to form a homogenous mass uniting the two pieces of leather and at the same time providing an absolute barrier against the passage of moisture from one piece of leather of poor grade may be converted for a useful purpose as it will then possess great stifiness and will be impervious to moisture.

Under this process we can also, by-cementing several thicknesses of splits together, reverse back on belly, etc., and ce- I menting them together with this waterproof.

cement, produce a leather which is highly durable and which willbe absolutely waterproof. The thinner pieces are penetrated by the cement and form when joined together, an absolutely Waterproof material. The idea of cementing these thin pieces of material together is to utilize the splits, which are at present a drug on the market. These splits,

celluloid between two thicknesses of this leather and cementing them together, to not be necessary to usel'three thicknesses, and

that a lighter, less expensive 'sole in that way could be produced.

It will thus be seen that the leatherprodnot here disclosed, while in reality simple in its construction and readily produced, at the same time provides a desirable substitute for high grade leather and insures.v that the lighter leather stock 'may be utilized to properly fill the place normally requiringheavier leather, which at the present time is unobtainable.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention,- it will be understood that various changes in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts maybe made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire'to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A constructed leather comprising continuous flat pieces of leather and a sheet of celluloid therebetween and secured thereto by cement insoluble in water. 0 v

2; A constructed leather comprising two plies of leather, a sheet of celluloid therebetween and secured together by a cement of soluble cotton.

In testimony whereof I have/hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

"ALBERT O. SELBY,

A. O. NELSON. 

